Calm Before The Storm
by Hikari6007
Summary: The Winter War has come to an end. And its left our two ice weilders cold and loveless. Can they find comfort in each other or is it just the calm before the storm? HitsuRuki
1. Chapter 1

_Calm before the Storm_

**Disclaimer : I own nothing but the plot. **

_Chapter 1_

The Winter War had come and passed. Its effects far more adverse than anyone could have ever imagined...

It was a morbid battle and though the shinigami had won, it was not that simple. In fact to many, it felt like a hollow victory.

A lot of important shinigami had lost their lives in the War, the most shocking of which was the death of a certain Shinigami Representative…

Yes.

Kurosaki Ichigo had _died_ in the Winter War…and the people _still_ couldn't believe it.

Ichigo was supposed to be the hero, the savior. It was inconceivable that he should die.

He died in shinigami form and now could not even be reborn in Soul Society!

Only a few people new what had killed Ichigo but they all knew one thing.

He was gone forever…

And though he did destroy some high ranking members of the Espada, it was hardly any consolation.

But…

If Kurosaki Ichigo was dead, then _who_stopped Aizen?

_That_ was perhaps the biggest shock of all…

The shinigami, who defeated Aizen with one swift blow, was not even a seated officer in the Gotei 13! This shinigami had hardly just only achieved Bankai during the war itself!

This shinigami was no prodigy, nothing exceptional and there were other shinigami in a better position to defeat the treacherous ex-captain.

Ah! But it was none of then who landed that finishing slash. It was _her_.

Shocking all who witnessed and heard…

Kuchiki Rukia had landed the final blow.

Kuchiki Rukiahad killed Aizen Sosuke.

And because of _that_ very fact…

Hitsugaya Toushiro _hated _Kuchiki Rukia…

__________

Where Ichigo and Rukia were fighting their own battles, Hitsugaya Toushiro, Matsumoto Rangiku, Hinamori Momo and Ichimaru Gin were fighting their own battle.

Much to Hitsugaya's elation Hinamori had recovered beyond sufficiently enough to participate in the Winter War and as depressed as she was, she finally got over her delusional state of mind and saw Aizen for the monstrous traitor he _really _was.

And then mush to Hitsugaya's irritation (and Matsumoto's delight) Gin turned out to be a double agent assigned by old man Yamamoto himself and was sworn to secrecy so that Aizen would not get suspicious.

All four of them held their own and fought valiantly and skillfully, destroying a few formidable opponents albeit not without injuries.

They had reached the part of the battle field from where they could see Aizen, nonchalantly watching some arrancar taking down a shinigami, his ever charming deceitful smile never faltering off his face.

Hitsugaya's blood began to boil at the sight and his comrades could feel a further drop in the already low temperature.

Thoughts of gory revenge clouded Hitsugaya's mind as he was finally going to make Aizen pay for all he had done to Seireitei…to Hinamori…

Bankai activated, he advanced toward Aizen, only to almost clash blades with Tousen instead.

But before their Zanpaktous collided, Hitsugaya was surprised to find that Ichimaru had intercepted Tousen instead.

Ichimaru grinned his fox-like grin telling Hitsugaya to save his strength and go after Aizen instead and that he would handle Tousen.

Hitsugaya nodded, failing to notice that during this ordeal Hinamori had already made her way to Aizen. And by the time he noticed, it was already too late.

"_Hinamori!"_ he shouted following behind her, willing her to stop, to come back.

She didn't stop till she stood right in front of the malicious traitor.

She begged him to change his ways, to stop the war, that he really still was the same old Aizen-taicho and that if he gave up she wouldn't have to hurt him.

Hitsugaya couldn't believe what he was seeing or hearing.

It had been a bad idea to let her participate in the war after all.

_Clash!_

Much to his horror, Hitsugaya was now being attacked by an arrancar, and he knew that it was just to stall him and keep him from Aizen and Hinamori.

"_No!" _was all that he could think.

He could see that she was trembling as she raised her weapon hesitantly and he knew it was not because of the cold.

Unfortunately for them as did Aizen and being the _bastard _that he was, he was going to take a full advantage of the situation.

He shunpoed himself parallel to her and grabbed her blade, not to discard it, but to place it on his heart. Leaving Hinamori simultaneously confused and horror struck.

"_Well here you go Hinamori-kun...isn't this what you came for?" _he asked, smile never once faltering as he pressed the sword in a little. _"Well? Go on…finish me off…"_

She began shaking violently and dropped her sword almost as if it had caught fire. Her body convulsed uncontrollably as she fell to the ground, holding her head and sobbing

"_I can't. I can't! Not to Aizen-Taicho. Not to Aizen-Taicho…"_

Needless to say, the mistake had been made.

Hitsugaya raced as fast as he could slice through arrancar after arrancar, trying with all his might to reach Aizen, but it wasn't good enough. It was already too late.

Hinamori sat there, head low, crouched, quaking in a corner with tears streaking down her face and unintelligible mutterings on her lips, when Aizen approached her.

"_Dear, dear Momo, loyal to the very end! How blessed I was to have such a wonderful FukuTaicho…"_

She raised her head, tear glistening eyes ever hopeful and then wide with shock.

"…_wonderfully __**foolish**__ that is!"_

He was holding his Zanpaktou over his head, ready to strike.

"_Hinamori! Move!" _shouted Hitsugaya who finally got away from frantically fighting the seemingly never ending horde of arrancars with Matsumoto's assistance and intervention.

It was no use.

Hinamori just stared at the blade blankly, unseeingly.

"_Hinamori!! Momo!!! NO!!!"_

A silver slash of a Zanpaktou in motion.

The sickening sound of metal cutting through flesh.

Hitsugaya's faster than ever dashing towards Aizen.

The roar of his ice cold dragon.

A loud, lifeless thump.

A miserably chocked but audible whisper…

"_But…I-I…loved…you...A-Aizen...T-Tai...cho…"_

In that moment a part of Hitsugaya died and along with it so did a piece of his heart. Hinamori shattered it into a million shards with her dying breath, leaving it (along with him)… broken…bloody… and far beyond repair…

There was a blinding flash.

_________

Hitsugaya's eyes came back to focus as he felt a light reiatsu approaching and heard the soft pattering noise of footstep against the stone path and he knew that someone was there. He couldn't help but sigh as he thought…_Isn't there always?_

"_What do you want… Kuchiki?"_

* * *

**Authors Note: Hello! This is my first fanfic ever and I would love it if you review. It would encourage me to improve and to update more. This is also just the beginning and I know you probably have alot of questions as to what is going on but I hope they will become clear to you in the next chapter! And yes. This is HitsuRuki! Join the HitsuRuki Army!!! xD**


	2. Chapter 2

_**Calm before the Storm**_

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot.**

_Chapter 2_

Hitsugaya let out a heavy sigh.

The girl had a perfect gift of being exactly where one didn't want her…

_______

When Aizen had killed Momo, all Hitsugaya could do was watch. Now, he was in a blind rage as he was hit by emotion after emotion.

He was going to destroy the malicious bastard.

He would make Aizen suffer.

He'd teach him, the hard way, the meaning of '_when hell freezes over.'_

Hitsugaya launched himself at Aizen, tactless and direct. He held his sword in position, ready to deliver a single but powerful jab.

He let his heart run away with his head.

So, was it any surprise, that Aizen easily gained the upper hand and bested Hitsugaya, yet again?

It happened as if in a flash and Hitsugaya didn't even know what hit him and how (though he had a _pretty_ accurate speculation as to what it was…or more precisely _who_ it was…)

All he could tell was, that he now lay a few inches away from the lifeless Hinamori and that the already blood soaked snow had turned a more vibrant shade of crimson from the fresh addition.

Aizen stood there, triumphantly, looming over his fallen enemies, graceful and unaffected by the chaos around him, smiling and most likely preparing to gloat about his now inevitable victory…

He opened his mouth, ready to speak, but suddenly the words died in his throat.

Eyes wide he turned around but not before Hitsugaya caught the look of shock on his face.

Hitsugaya didn't know what was happening but he didn't care anymore. He turned his head towards his fallen comrade; unseen tears threatening to spill form his tired dying eyes. He used the remnants of his strength to extend his hand towards Hinamori, to grasp hers. _"I-I'm sorry Momo…I'I couldn't p-protect…you…"_

Aizen's sly chortle ruined the sentimental moment as he had turned back to Hitsugaya, apparently having thwarted whatever it was that caused him alarm.

He smiled smugly. His 'charming' demeanor back in place.

"_It was a futile attempt Hitsugaya-kun…" _he began, tone dripping with false sweetness. _"Though I will commend you for your tenacity…no matter how __**pointless**__ it was…"_

All sweetness was gone and he raised his sword.

"_Goodbye...Hitsugaya-ku…"_

He never finished that sentence.

A slash of the purest of white went through Aizen, slicing him in half, dead before he even hit the ground.

The snow was splattered with yet another layer of blood as it gushed out of Aizen's impossibly outrageous wound.

As Aizen has split in two behind him stood his assassin, panting, bloody, hands trembling and eyes heavy with fatigue.

Behind him, stood Kuchiki Rukia.

Then Hitsugaya blacked out.

_______

Rukia had succeeded where Hitsugaya had failed.

She had killed Aizen Sosuke… whereas Hitsugaya almost _got _killed by Aizen Sosuke.

"_Well then…?"_ asked the petite shinigami, snapping Hitsugaya out of his reverie.

He raised his slightly lowered head, tearing his eyes away from the grave in front of him. '_Hinamori Momo' _

"_Well what?" _he asked in a monotonous yet icy tone.

He shot her his most unnerving deadpan stare, but much to no avail.

His eyes had lost their spark and the chilly white hot intensity they had once possessed.

Instead, they were shrouded in a black haze that could suck out the joy from anyone or anything around him especially if he glared.

Not to say that they _weren't _intense anymore, but it was an intensity of a whole different nature…

Instead of sending chills down your spine, his stare not left you feeling just plain…hollow.

Rukia closed her eyes and let out a heavy exhausted sigh, her shoulders slumping drastically as if the whole weight of the world had been dumped onto her.

Hitsugaya blinked.

He knew his glare no longer sent people running for the hills, but still, even now it had always been effective, _especially _in getting people to leave him alone…

And yet…

Here stood this girl, Kuchiki Rukia, unmoved, indifferent, unyielding to the indications behind his glare and the direct demand in his eyes.

Needless to say, he was a bit surprised.

He involuntarily raised a single brow.

As if on cue, Rukia straightened up, though her shoulders were still slumped in a sort of defeated manner, leaving Hitsugaya to think that _maybe _his glare had been successful after all and _maybe _the dark haired female would leave.

_Could it really be __**that**__ simple?_

How very wrong he was.

It is _never _that simple.

Rukia opened her eyes and Hitsugaya froze on the spot.

They were _black…_

Well, at least from where he was standing.

"_You seem to forget, Hitsugaya-Taicho" _she began some what pensively whilst looking down. _"That others need to access this cemetery as well…"_

He followed her gaze, down, to a single white rose she held in her pale dainty fingers.

He frowned.

He hadn't got Hinamori any flowers. Ever.

Kuchiki Rukia had one upped him…_again…_

'_Damn it!' _he thought as he returned his gaze back to the girl and was surprised to find himself staring deeply into obsidian pools as the distance between the two shinigami lessened.

He could see that the lower part of her of her irises was a dull shade of violet.

There was no spark in her eyes and they were heavily glazed over…

'_**Dead. Like Kurosaki Ichigo…'**_

Hitsugaya startled himself with his own conclusion in time to realize that he and the Kuchiki were merely two meters apart.

Then, without once breaking eye contact and in a manner of monotonous business like stoicism befitting a noble and rivaling that of her own brother's, she spoke…

"_You're blocking the way."_

He blinked and speechlessly stepped aside letting the shorter shinigami pass.

During the Winter War, Hitsugaya had hit a growth spurt, therefore Rukia's head reached till his ears.

He kept a steady gaze on her.

He had no doubt to where she was heading.

'_**Dead. Like Kaien Shiba…'**_

Hitsugaya closed his eyes messaging his temples as he kept on recalling images of her lifeless black tenebrous eyes, the defeated posture and the inanimate expression…all of which was beginning to look very…familiar…

'_**Dead. Like Hinamori Momo…'**_

Hitsugaya's eyes snapped open as he turned back to look at Rukia again only to find that she had mysteriously evanesced.

He scowled, as the Kuchiki had caught him by surprise yet again and then stepped back to his original standing position where he fell into a numb stupor gazing at his friend's grave.

Suddenly it hit him.

He _had_ seen the same expression as Rukia's before…

Every day.

Since the Winter War.

In his own reflection.

'_**Dead. Like Hitsugaya Toushiro…'  
**__**  
**_

* * *

**Author's Note:- Hey guys! This is Hikari-chan! ^ ^ I hope I haven't taken too long in updating. I hope you guys tell me how you like it this far. Remember if you have any questions they will only be answered sooner if you review and tell me what you think and so that I can be inspired to write more. Thank you too all my reviewers! You guys are the absolute best! And a special thanks to _Incubisbuckit _my unofficial sometimes beta reader. Thanx for all the support! **


	3. Chapter 3

**Calm Before The Storm**

_Chapter 3  
_

Thunder roared, like a mighty dragon, across the storm cloud infested sky, its booming voice echoing through the now empty graveyard but falling on the deaf ears of a certain noble Kuchiki.

Said Kuchiki, was sitting on her knees, eyes shut and hands clasped tightly, resting on her forehead as if lost in prayer, a look of pure anguish etched across her features as she sat kneeling in front of her once beloved's grave.

_"Kaien-dono..."_

* * *

Hitsugaya Toushiro was walking back to his Division.

He had long before left the graveyard and along with it all memory of his strange and some what unnerving encounter with Kuchiki Rukia.

The female had wounded his pride by killing his worst enemy...Aizen.

_"Aizen..."_

The very thought of him made Hitsugaya's blood boil and his gut to churn with the utmost loathing.

Aizen had robbed him of something very precious, and Hitsugaya couldn't even avenge that.

The thought that now, he would most likely never get his revenge made him sulk, though one couldn't really tell...most _everything_ seemed to make the Ju-bantai Captain sulk these days.

The thought that it was Kuchiki Rukia who had killed the traitor filled him with mild self-disgust, self-loathing and...a bit of admiration...?

He stopped dead in his tracks.

_'...Where did **that **come from....?'_

He shook his head slightly and continued straight forward towards his office, this time with the assistance of flash step.

'_Focus Hitsugaya' _he thought dryly '_There's paperwork left to be done...'_

His eyes darkened.

_'Thanks to that lazy-ass lieutenant of yours...' _he muttered bitterly as an after thought.

* * *

_It was a cold day. _

_The air had a frigidity about it, that seeped through the garbs and roughened exteriors of everyone who was present, chilling them to the bone._

_The shinigami army stood,erect and alert, anxiously waiting for Aizen and his army of arrancar, near the outskirts of the unsuspecting town of Karakura._

_Grey clouds swarmed the sky and gentle flakes of snow descended delicately. _

_However, the horde of shinigami could not stop to appreciate their beauty, after all there was a war afoot..._

_The shinigami stood according to the their ranks. Captains in the first row followed by their Vice-Captains, who were followed by their next in command and so on until the end, where a mass of unranked shinigami were positioned to guard the rear._

_Further off in the distance, was a masterfully concealed camp where the Division 4 shinigami stood prepared to treat any casualties with a grave faced Unohana standing as the chief medic in charge._

_The tension was almost palpable._

_Soifon Taicho stood as stony faced as ever, adjacent to her idol Shinouin Yoroichi, who sported the expression herself._

_Urahara Kisuke, her friend and fellow ex-captain stood by her side, mirroring the same serious demeanor, his for-so-long concealed Zanpaktou, Benihime, no longer in its disguise as a cane and he himself was clad in the shinigami uniform once again, his captain's haori wrapped around his shoulder. _

_Next to him stood Hisagi Shuuhei, the stand in captain for the ninth. He stood, somewhat pale, the prospect of facing his ex-captain for the first time since his betrayal, not seeming very pleasant to him, or pleasant at all._

_The same could be said about his friend and occasional sake-buddy Kira Izuru, standing in place of the third. A permanent frown was etched across his ghostly pale features and he trembled visibly. He too dreaded confrontation with his treacherous ex-captain._

_Next to him, stood his old friend Hinamori Momo, filling in the spot for the fifth and in surprisingly good health. She too, looked a bit pale, but not a single shudder escaped from her as she stood positioned and determined to face her once beloved ex-captain._

_'I have to see for myself..' she thought '...and if its true...I-I'll face him....'_

_Her eyes were ablaze with a resolute flame, which did not go unnoticed by a certain Tenth Division Captain who couldn't be more ecstatic about his childhood friend's enthusiasm to fight the very captain with whom she was so infatuated with._

_Thinking about where this infatuation had lead her and how Hinamori was manipulated because of it, sent ice up Hitsugaya's veins and his already icy teal eyes became even more glacial. _

_Matsumoto stood behind her captain. She was happy that his dear friend had recovered so tremendously but her own heart was weighed down with the pain of betrayal as well._

_'Gin...' _

_She could recall the moment perfectly._

_"Sorry Rangiku..."_

_'Well, sorry doesn't save lives now, does it?' she thought dryly and put her brave face on._

_Ukitake-Taicho though too sick to fight otherwise, stood by the rear and even Kyoraku knew that the situation was far too severe to be drunk and lazy. _

_Kenpachi was exuding blood-lust like a broken radiator and though he had a feral glint in his eyes, he refrained from rampaging like a mad man, that he admittedly was, and just scowled impatiently instead. _

_Yachiru was unperturbed._

_Ikkaku and Yumichika, scanned their surroundings warily, waiting for even the faintest signs of the enemy._

_Kuchiki Byakuya was sporting his usual stoic expression but there was an extra hard and steely glint in his eyes. After all, the traitor Aizen had impaled his sister to get his greedy hands onto the hougyoku._

_Byakuya had **definitely** not appreciated that._

_Renji had his face set in the exact same expression as his captain. Only more visibly hostile._

_He didn't like it when Aizen had nearly killed his best friend either._

_Amongst the rank of captains, was another. _

_Next to Renji stood, Kurosaki Ichigo. _

_His face was set in a stubborn frown and his fiery hazel eyes were contemplative, his thoughts faraway._

_There was a lot riding on this War and especially for him._

_It was **his** town that was at stake and he had to protect it** no matter what.**_

_He thought of his family._

_Karin, Yuzu and even his occasionally -okay,scratch that- **completely** deranged father. The elder Kurosaki meant well and Ichigo knew it. It was just that his antics weren't very conventional and were often quite irritating._

_Ichigo couldn't help but notice as the time for the imminent war approached, his father had adapted a more serious brow. He rarely left the house anymore and Ichigo got the feeling that it was because of his sisters._

_Ichigo knew that Karin knew about his shinigami activities, she always had been more spiritually aware than Yuzu. Karin was tough and Ichigo knew, that between her and his idiot father, Yuzu would be safe. And between himself and the Gotei 13, he would make sure that the whole of Karakura would be safe._

_He thought about his friends, his** 'nakama'.** The people who transcended the boundaries of the living and the dead, quite literally, for him! _

_Ishida and his "Quincy reasons", Chad and his moral obligations and Inoue with her unparalleled kindness and almost single-minded devotion._

_They had altered the course of their lives because of him and now they were standing by him again through this ordeal, which otherwise didn't have anything to do with them. _

_His nakama were precious to him and as such they were something worth protecting, something worth fighting for, and he would be damned if a single one of them doesn't make it alive through this war._

_Speaking of precious nakama, Ichigo realized that he was missing a very special person on his list._

_This person was perhaps his closest and most constant companion out of them all._

_This special comrade was the source of his power, the first person to give him a way to protect all those he cared for. No matter how many times he would help this nakama it would never feel enough, because even though he was the hero, **she** wad the one who rescued him, who protected him despite any personal harm that she would have to bare later. _

_She was his savior._

_The key to his strength, the secret to his development, his achievement, his success and even a bit to his carelessness, for he could always afford to be a little brash and dense, knowing that this special nakama would always be there to (literally) knock some sense into his thick skull and keep him on his toes._

_And though he would never admit it out loud (at least right now), he cared about her deeply and perhaps personally even more than his other comrades. It was true they fought like cats and dogs and true that they would try to hide there feelings from one another, but it was also true that she got him and he got her and they knew one another and... and... somewhere in between all this, it was also true..._

_that he had fallen in love with her..._

_'Rukia...'_

_A determined glint shown through the fiery hazel eyes of Shinigami Representative, as they came back into focus and his stubborn scowl became more prominently etched across his features._

_Yes, Kurosaki Ichigo was a shinigami with everything to lose and a lot to protect._

_Sadly, however, in his list of precious commodities, there was one thing that he never felt the need to add..._

_His own life._

_

* * *

  
_

_Crack!_

"_Hmm...?"_

The harsh crackling of lightning outside had finally made Hitsugaya pull his head out of his paper work and take a glance outside his office window, where a violent storm was gradually, but inevitably approaching.

It was strangely...entrancing.

Random shinigami were hastily bustling about trying to make there way to their designated barracks and Divisions.

Hitsugaya took a brief moment to wonder what kind of idiot would be out in this kind of storm?

The sound of fast approaching footsteps and a heavy reiatsu, made him tear his eyes away from the window to his rice paper door where he could tell his lieutenant was standing.

"_Renji! What's the matter?"_

"_Rangiku! Have you seen Rukia around? We can't find her anywhere!"_

Sighing heavily, Hitsugaya returned his gaze back to the comfort of the dark gloom gradually shrouding the outside world.

_'...Okay...**that **kind of idiot...'_

With that final thought he went back to the paperwork.

* * *

_Kuchiki Rukia was one of the hundreds of unranked shinigami who stood guarding the rare._

_Despite her being unranked, her position in the army was highly disputed because her skills far surpassed those of many others in the files of the unseated._

_It probably comes as no surprise that Rukia was one of the more superior fighters at the end._

_Rukia was apprehensive about the lives of her nearest and dearest as well, all of whom coincidentally qualified as captain-class and therefore in the very line of fire._

_Indeed, they had grown stronger over the course of time after the last confrontation with the arrancar but who knows?_

_Maybe the arrancar did as well._

_And the shinigami never had gotten a real taste of their true power in the first place._

_And lets not forget Aizen, Tousen and Gin._

_Oh and then there's the hougyoku..._

_Rukia shuddered inwardly but did not let it show in her stance._

_She was not going to be the weak link in this war._

_'Good Luck...Nii-sama...Renji....Ichigo...and please... don't die...'_

_There was a restless shuffling amongst the ranks, so it became quite noticeable when everything suddenly went... still._

_The silence was deafening and the tension that permeated the air, suffocating._

_Rukia, alerted and alarmed by this sudden drastic change, fortified her stance more and was just wondering what had happened when..._

_She felt it._

_A reiatsu._

_Massive._

_Dense._

_Ominous,_

_Almost palpable._

_It was unlike anything she had ever felt before._

_And yet..._

_It seemed...familiar..._

_Only when the spiritual pressure descended closer and the restless shuffling of defensive measures was restored, did Rukia get a glimpse of the silhouettes that were approaching the army, nonchalant and relaxed. Almost as if they were taking a leisurely stroll!_

_Rukia's eyes widened._

_It was them._

_The traitors._

_Tousen, Gin and Aizen._

_But that wasn't the weirdest thing._

_They were all alone._

_As in **no **arrancar._

_The shock was felt throughout the shinigami mass._

"_Ah. Shinigami!" Aizen began conversationally, pleasant smile in place._

_All the Captains narrowed their eyes sceptically._

_What was the catch?_

"_I suppose this is hello..."he continued._

_A dark shadow passed over his face and his smile turned into a malicious smirk._

"_And good-bye...."_

"_Matte!"_

_All eyes turned to the smiling fox faced traitor._

"_Before we start this thing...any last words...Captain-Commander...?" He directed towards Yamamoto._

_The other captains tensed around the old man._

_Yamamoto lifted one eye open before responding in his booming voice._

"_Yes...ICHIMARU GIN IS A DOUBLE AGENT FOR THE GOTEI 13"_

_In a flash, Gin had his zanpaktou drawn at the neck of the traitors who were both unresponsive._

_And when he slashed at them, his perpetual grin was wiped off his face..._

"_It was an **illusion!**"_

_Maniacal cackling ensued around them._

"_I thought there was a traitor in our midst...but I'm disappointed it was you,Gin. You could have been a God...but now you can die along with these **forsaken **fools..."_

_Rukia's eyes snapped wide open as she felt the sudden tremendous burst of reiatsu behind her_

_and both turning around and swinging Sode No Shirayuki in front of her, she screamed at the top of her lungs._

"_AMBUSH!!!"_

_And all hell broke loose._

_

* * *

_**Author's Note:**** Hello again everybody! This is Hikari (6th Seat of The GLORIOUS Second Division under the kawaii..eh..I mean...totally stressed Saint Sky...*smiles innocently*) and I know its been a long while...but I've been massively distracted (school, exams, etc.) I know you guys know what I'm talking about.**

**Ok, this is mostly in flashback. Remember, the Winter War is over. Next chapter hopefully, I'll cover all the details of what happened...(how Ichigo dies...) and we can get on with the HitsuRuki! *sqeeeeeee***

**Please review! It takes alot for me to sit still in one place and write down a chapter! Reviews are an excellent source of inspiration.**

**So until next time,**

**Ja!  
**


	4. Chapter 4

Calm Before The Storm

_Chapter 4_

_*_

"_AMBUSH!!!"_

_The scream resounded in the depths of Ichigo's mind._

_Near. Far. Everywhere._

_As he registered it, time itself seemed to slow down to a complete standstill._

_He was no longer in the snowy outskirts of Karakura but in a black space. Frozen._

_'That voice...'_

_Near. Far. Everywhere._

_Resounding._

_**Ambush!**_

_'That voice..it...'_

_**Ambush!**_

_Frozen in the black space, Ichigo's pupils contracted drastically as the realization finally set in._

_'That voice...it belongs to...!'_

_**Ambush!**_

_The black space shattered, giving way to the frosty battlefield. To reality._

_In less than a second Ichigo set off like lightening toward the rear of the army and called out at the top of his lungs._

"_RUKIA!!!!"_

* * *

_All hell had broken loose._

_Arrancar vs. Shinigami._

_There was pandemonium on the battlefield._

_Rukia grunted, trying to hold under the pressure of the arrancar's sword on hers._

_Putting her free hand on the blade of her zanpaktou, she pushed forward, managing to deflect the enemy's blade and jumping a good distance away from him._

"_Mai, Sode No Shiryakui!"_

_The arrancar, unfazed, prepared to attack again. A sadistic grin plastered on his face._

_He was going to enjoy this._

"_Some No Mai: Tsuki Shiro!"_

_With an elegant swing of her sword, Rukia froze the ground around them completely and along with it, the lower half of the unsuspecting arrancar's body._

_Shaking off his initial surprise, the arrancar easily broke free, suspended in the sky, cackling and ready to gloat._

_'Perfect...' thought Rukia, though her impassive face did not betray it._

"_Is that **all** you can do, Shinigami?!" hollered the arrancar, cocky and amused. Completely oblivious to the white icy circle glowing beneath him._

_Two other arrancar decided to add to the two person party._

"_How about the three of us have some fun with this one?" suggested one of the new arrivals._

_All three grinned ominously._

_Rukia sighed and closed her eyes. Grinning inwardly._

_T he three arrancar dashed excitedly at the petite shinigami._

_Rukia's eyes snapped opened._

_And the three villains instantly got trapped in a vertical white column of ice. Completely frozen._

_Rukia could see their excited expressions clearly._

_They didn't even have time to be surprised. It all happened **that** fast._

_The pillar collapsed, destroying both itself and the arrancar imprisoned within._

_Rukia held her sword limply at the side._

"_Everything in the circle, both land and sky, is within Sode No Shirayuki's frozen domain. I thought you already knew that...Ichigo."_

_She turned around to face the wide eyed Shinigami Representative._

"_R-Rukia...!...You...I...How did-"_

"_Baka!" she interrupted. "I sensed your behemoth reiatsu approacing!"_

_Ichigo just stared at her, speechless and wide-eyed._

"_Why did you abandon your rank!?"_

_Though she spoke normally, it sounded like an order._

"_Huh?..I...you...I just..."_

"_I told you already,Ichigo! I'm capable of taking care of myself!"_

_His eyes softened at this and he tore his gaze away from hers, looking at the ground, somewhat apologetically._

"_I know...I just.."he stopped and sighed. "Gomen, Rukia...."_

_She sighed as well, turning her head away._

"_Baka..." she scolded gently. "You don't have to apologize..."_

_She turned back towards Ichigo._

"_And you don't have to worry about me either..." She looked straight into his eyes with her own hard violet ones, startling Ichigo slightly. "You need to focus, Ichigo. You are an important asset to the shinigami and we need you at 100%. Do you understand.?"_

_Ichigo's eyes softened again and he pressed his slightly parted lips together as the curved slightly at the edges._

_Rukia had done it again._

_She had put him back on the track, the way only she knows how._

_He felt a warmth spreading in his chest, despite the cold._

_'Rukia...'_

_WHAM!!_

_Ichigo doubled over in pain as Rukia promptly kneed him in the gut._

"_WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR!!!??" He shouted, simultaneously angry and incredulous._

"_WHAT WAS THAT SAPPY LOOK FOR HUH???!! Didn't I just tell you to focus,Idiot!!!???"_

_She turned her back to him._

"_Why you little..." he twitched, hands itching to strangle a certain midget before him._

"_Oh, and one last thing, Ichigo..."_

_His homicidal fantasies had to wait._

_He straightened up._

"_What is it?"_

_She faced him, but with her eyes averted to the ground._

_He blinked and his eyebrows shot up._

_'Was she **blushing???**'_

_She finally moved her gaze to meet his, whispering something gently and almost inaudibly._

_His eyes widened slightly._

_At this point three more arrancar decided to drop in, but they were weak enough to be destroyed with a single swing of Ichigo's zanpaktou and a blast of his Getsuga Tenshou._

_Ichigo looked over his shoulder, back at Rukia._

_Despite the interruption, he was able to make out what she had said.._

"_Don't worry about me, Rukia." He moved Zangetsu to rest on his shoulder. _

"_I don't plan on dying in this war..." he finished._

_Rukia looked up at Ichigo, with watery violent pools for eyes, while Ichigo looked back, his own eyes, a fiery topaz, hard with determination._

_After a few seconds of staring, she closed her eyes and chuckled slightly, allowing herself a small smile._

"_Ah . Good luck,Ichigo."_

_He nodded once and turned his head straight, heading off towards the front lines, where he was needed._

"_You too, Rukia."_

_As Ichigo ran forward, he could still imagine Rukia, blushing, with liquidized purple eyes averted to the ground before looking back at him and whispering ever so gently..._

_"Please, don't die..."_

_

* * *

_**Author's Note:**_  
_

**Ugh. Ok. I'm sorry. I know its been a VERY long time but...I had been very caught up in a lot of things. This is the incomplete version of this chapter, but I figured I might as well have this up. Reviews would be loved...maybe then i'll actually be motivated to write *sighs*.**  



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